Grenade in attic prompts call to bomb squad

Friday

May 18, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 18, 2007 at 6:03 PM

Matt Lynch/Daily News staff

The device, which state officials said had been disarmed prior to storage in the attic, belonged to the late husband of 88-year-old Lena Doyle, who recently moved from her Congress Street house to The Whitcomb House assisted-living residence.

"It's a dud, not explosive," said Doyle. "It was my husband's. He brought it all the way back from the Philippines."

Doyle and her daughter, Pamela Doyle-Penny, knew the grenade in the attic wasn't live. But, Doyle-Penny said she didn't tell her cousin and her cousin's husband, who were clearing out the attic, because the family plans to put it on the market Monday.

"I knew it was there," said Doyle-Penny, who now lives Alexandria, Va. "I thought we might sell it someday."

Doyle said her husband, Robert Doyle Sr., emptied the gunpowder out of the grenade and brought it with him as a souvenir from his years stationed at Leyte, where Gen. Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his famous "I shall return" promise.

After finding the grenade, Doyle's niece and her husband called Milford Police, who called in the Hazardous Devices Unit of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, also known as the state police bomb squad.

Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for the state fire marshal, said family members often find grenades or other items World War II veterans kept as souvenirs and, although they are often harmless, it's best to call the authorities just in case.

"It's not uncommon that, when World War II veterans pass on, we find these souvenirs left behind," said Mieth. "People don't know - is it inert or is it alive? We always urge people to call us."

Doyle said she and her husband lived at the Congress Street house for 50 years and her husband was raised in the home before he went to the Philippines in a U.S. Navy construction battalion.

Matt Lynch can be reached at 508-634-7556 or mlynch@cnc.com.

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